In this course, we will explore modern Korean society through a cultural lens.
Starting from the colonial period until the contemporary, each week will explore a different moment in Korea’s modern history and examine the relationship between culture and society. At times, we will study how culture of the time engaged with contemporaneous issues. At other times, we will examine how historical issues are remembered and reemployed in subsequent cultural works. In examining this link between society and culture, we will also study key cultural theories that will aid students in critical thinking and analysis. Per week, there will be one primary source (either a piece of literature or a film/television episode) and two readings: one historical overview and one article analysing the text. Sporadically, we will also engage in theoretical concepts in order to widen our tools for cultural analysis. By engaging in history, theory, and culture, students will have gained a thorough knowledge of the key historical happenings that have shaped contemporary Korean society, as well as a deep understanding of the ways in which culture reflects/challenges/distorts history.
- Lehrende(r): Ji-Yoon An
